A group of law enforcement officials stood in support of Tennessee's new Common Core Standards that become fully implemented through grades K-12 this coming school year.

We're told the changes will put a focus on understanding and applying curriculum.

Johnson City Police Chief Mark Sorois said giving kids a solid educational foundation can make a difference. "It increases the chances of employability, and it lessens the opportunity or the chances for them to turn to crime or other enterprises that being them into contact with us in law enforcement," said Chief Sorois.

Research in a report released today by the organization 'Fight Crime: Invest in Kids' states changes in employment opportunities and wages among non-college educated men may explain as much as half of property and violent crime rates.